Fla. cop arrested, suspended for punching another cop

Deputy Edeania Nettles may be fired pending an investigation after punching another female officer who was with Nettles' husband

By Susan Jacobson
Orlando Sentinel

OSCEOLA, Fla — An Osceola deputy was arrested and suspended after she was accused of punching a St. Cloud police officer who was at a park with the deputy's husband.

Deputy Edeania Nettles, 39, was arrested on a charge of battery on a law-enforcement officer. She could be fired depending on the results of an internal investigation, sheriff's spokeswoman Twis Lizasuain said.

Nettles reached through the window of Officer Jennifer Hoyos' patrol car and punched the side of her face. She then yanked Hoyos, 26, from the car, an arrest report states.

The women grappled while Nettles' husband, St. Cloud police Sgt. Elbert John Nettles, 36, tried to separate them, according to the report.

The confrontation happened about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday at Ted Broda Memorial Park at 4499 Michigan Ave. in St. Cloud. Hoyos had a skinned knee, bloody lips, a clump of hair pulled out and scratches on her neck, investigators wrote.

Hoyos, 26, was on duty, said St. Cloud police spokeswoman Officer Diara Wesler. The report does not say why John Nettles was present, and Wesler would not comment other than to say he is not her supervisor and the two remain on the job.

Court records show that Hoyos on Thursday requested a stalking injunction against Edeania Nettles. A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 16.
Edeania Nettles worked for the Sheriff's Office for a decade, left in 2012 and returned in April.

Her husband was in the news in June 2011 when he was one of two St. Cloud officers who shot a woman dead when they responded to a dispute between roommates.

John Nettles, an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, received a written reprimanded in 2012 after he accidentally shot off half of another officer's right middle finger during a drug raid.